Senators won’t intervene in SC case against Sereno

Senators from the majority coalition on Thursday refused to join the fray over a petition in the Supreme Court to invalidate the appointment of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, saying they could not intervene in the affairs of a coequal branch of government.

In bucking calls for the Senate to seek a halt to the proceedings in the case, the allies of President Duterte in the Senate invoked the separation of powers and the fact that the House of Representatives has yet to impeach Sereno.

They rejected the call of the Coalition for Justice (CFJ) on Wednesday for the Senate to intervene and ask the Supreme Court to dismiss Solicitor General Jose Calida’s quo warranto petition.

The coalition argued that proceeding with the case would be an insult to the Senate, which has the sole power to try an impeachable official.

The CFJ groups 350 activists, lawmakers, church and civil society leaders, artists and journalists.

Among its prominent members are former Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr. and former Sen. Rene Saguisag.

No impeachment case yet

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said there was no reason for the Senate to challenge the Supreme Court and invoke its right to try Sereno as an impeachable official because it had yet to receive any case against the country’s top judge.

“Fight for our ‘right’ to try Sereno even though the House hasn’t impeached anybody yet? Then where is that so-called right based?” Pimentel said, referring to the Inquirer’s headline on Thursday, though adding that everybody should fight for the rule of law.

The minority bloc shared the CFJ’s position against removing Sereno through an extraconstitutional method.

“But there are only six of us,” Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said in a text message. “The appeal, and the challenge, should be addressed to the leadership and the majority coalition in the Senate.”

The six opposition senators are Drilon, Bam Aquino, Francis Pangilinan, Risa Hontiveros, Antonio Trillanes IV and Leila de Lima.

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto said he supported the CFJ stand.

“Normally, the Senate should not interfere with a coequal branch of government, in this case, the Supreme Court. However, it seems clear to all the purpose of the quo warranto is to remove the Chief Justice, which can only be done through impeachment,” Recto said in a text message.

But Sen. Francis Escudero said no impeachment case had been filed against Sereno in the Senate yet.

“It would be presumptuous, to say the least, for the Senate to assume that one will indeed be filed sometime in the future against CJ Sereno,” Escudero said.

Nonexistent case

“So what so-called right will the Senate, as an institution, be asserting and fighting for? Our putative right to try

a nonexistent impeachment case?” he added.

If Sereno’s rights are being violated by the quo warranto petition, the matter should be raised before the Supreme Court, as has been done, he said.

There is no need to drag the Senate into it, he added.

However, the tribunal decides on Calida’s petition, it would become part of the law of the land regardless of how one feels about it, he said.

According to Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, the Constitution prescribes the separation of powers, which means the Senate cannot intervene in the affairs of the Supreme Court, and vice versa.

“The separation of powers is a fundamental principle in our system of government. It obtains not through express provision but by the actual division in our Constitution,” Sotto said.

Go direct to SC

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said those who were seeking to stop the court from proceeding with the petition against Sereno should appeal to the tribunal itself or to the people.

The Senate should not be pressured to act against the court because it has no authority to interfere in the affairs of a coequal branch and say it was abusing its discretion, Lacson said.

“It’s not about whether what the Supreme Court is doing is right or wrong. What I’m saying is, we don’t have the right, we don’t have the authority, it’s not within our power to tell the Supreme Court what to do,” Lacson told reporters.

Once the Supreme Court rules on Calida’s petition, Lacson said he expected the senators to be called to a caucus to decide how the Senate would move forward on any impeachment case.

President Duterte has asked his allies in the House to expedite the impeachment of Sereno. — WITH A REPORT FROM MAILA AGER